Jeb Bush Says Romney Wins in Campaign Focused on Economy

Republican presidential candidate
Mitt Romney can win the Nov. 6 election if the campaign stays
focused on the economy and not “the constant distractions,”
said former Florida Governor Jeb Bush.

“I think Mitt wins when it’s about these big things,”
Bush said on NBC’s “Meet the Press” today, according to an NBC
transcript. “Republicans really need to be disciplined to stay
focused on: Sustained economic growth is our objective and
here’s how we’re gonna do it and here’s why the president’s
failed.”

Bush spoke in the run-up to the Republican National
Convention in Tampa, Florida, scheduled to start tomorrow.
Romney and vice presidential candidate Paul Ryan will introduce
themselves on the national stage and try to build a lead over
President Barack Obama.

Romney has encountered some of those distractions over the
past few days, including his apparently joking reference to
Obama’s birth certificate and the release on Gawker.com of
financial information relating to investments of Bain Capital
LLC, the private equity company he co-founded.

Republican Bush, 59, served two terms as the governor of
Florida, leaving office in early 2007. His father, George H.W.
Bush, and his brother, George W. Bush, are both Republicans and
former U.S. presidents.

Education Policy

Bush will speak at the convention about education policy,
which he said presents an opportunity for bipartisanship.

“The American political system has become so short-run in
its nature,” he said. “And we need to be much longer term in
our thinking and begin to solve problems.”

His brother, blamed by Democrats for the recession and slow
recovery, won’t be attending the convention.

Jeb Bush challenged Republicans to take less doctrinaire
positions on immigration and on raising revenue as part of a
bipartisan deficit-reduction agreement. He said he thought
Romney could reach common ground on revenue.

“He’s a practical person who’s had life experience based
on solving problems,” Bush said.

Romney has ruled out using tax increases to reduce the
deficit. Spending cuts are the only way to balance the budget,
he has said.